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The Flash, The Flash - Season 6, TV Reviews

The Flash – S6 Ep19 – Success is Assured Review

We all know that season 6 had to be cut short due to what’s going on in the world right now and as chance would have it ‘Success is Assured’ gave us a finalé worthy, end of season cliffhanger.

This season has been a little different and there have been groans that there hasn’t been enough Flash on The Flash. I actually think this has worked well for two reasons. Firstly it’s given us the chance to see other characters like Ralph shine. This episode really showed off what important places he and the others have within the team and that even without Barry’s guidance, they can come together and make it work. Secondly, Barry’s biggest strength is his heart and we’ve seen once again that even with barely any speed left, he can still lead and motivate a team, whilst using other ways to bring down the bad guy. In the wake of Oliver Queen’s death and the loss of Arrow from the ‘Arrowverse’, Barry Allen has proven he is more than capable of filling those shoes. Oh and also, Iris has been fantastic the whole way through!

This episode is practically a race against time. Trying to figure out where Eva has gone and then trying to protect Carver from her gives the team quite a lot to do. Cisco is still off trying to find the last piece of his puzzle and Killer Frost runs some tests with Caitlin’s Mum before she’s taken off to get better. There is more development between Ralph and Sue and even though she’s been safely returned to her parents, it’s very clear that there is still so much more mystery to Sue. There was also some reprise for Nash (who was the true superstar this week) as Allegra finally appears to give him a break.

Iris is still hell bent on finding Chief Singh but it’s starting to look like she’s been left in the mirrorverse too long as she could be beginning to follow the same fate Eva did. It worries Barry even more when Carver tells him that people change behind the mirror and it’s not compatible with the human brain. Eva has been a great villain and I’ve enjoyed the whole mirrorverse storyline throughout this season. I am assuming this would have been wrapped up by the proper last episode and hearing that the big cliffhanger would have revolves around Reverse Flash means that the mirrorverse will surely return for season 7. Well I hope so otherwise that cliffhanger will have a much longer lasting affect than I would like!

The Flash, The Flash - Season 6

The Flash – S6 Ep18 – Pay the Piper Review

The team is fractured and on the verge of shattering and Barry goes to his old faithful, Joe for some sound advice and a good old boost. They are all at breaking point and the worst thing is that they have no idea if Iris and Kamila being trapped in the mirrorverse means they are dead in the real world.

With all that going on, perhaps the arrival of Godspeed is a welcome distraction? There again he’s trying to steal what’s left of Barry’s speed so probably not. This Godspeed’s use of sound waves leads Barry to team up with an old foe, Pied Piper. The shift caused by Crisis means that Barry has caused Pied Piper’s boyfriend some serious damage and that means he gets less than a friendly welcome. Andy Mientus is great and proved a nice little link back to the show’s past. Of course they manage to put their differences aside and with Barry using his speed and Pied Piper using his waves they made a great team and in return we got an even greater Ghosbusters reference from Nash and Cisco … THEY CROSSED STREAMS! I loved seeing Barry battle another speedster again and this story has been left open for more Godspeed goodness. Nash has spent this season being practically outcast from the team and this is the first time we haven’t really seen a version of Wells naturally integrate. In this episode though he kind of shows that he’s become the backbone and that person who pushes them and leads from the back and I really hope that Nash is the Wells we get in season 7.

Killer Frost is on the mend and is preparing to leave so she can get the help she needs from her Mum. Well, Caitlin’s Mum – and the fact that she has no relationship with her makes her anxious. Ralph does what Ralph does best and talks her round and makes her see how valued she is away from being Caitlin. She graduates life coach school with no less than a dib-ploma! I loved this!!! Where can I enrol?

In the mirrorverse, Iris finally finds Kamila but she’s hit a wall and can’t figure a way out. We haven’t seen Kamila since she was taken so it was good to see she’s ok, working away at mirror Star Labs. Finding Kamila seems to have given Iris some fighting spirit though and she decides they need to find Chief Singh. At the end of the episode Barry gives the remaining members of the team a pep talk which does wonders for their morale and Cisco has an idea which is going to take him to Atlantis!

The Flash, The Flash - Season 6

The Flash – S6 Ep17 – Liberation Review

You’d think Barry would have become a broken man since Iris threw him out, but he’s used his investigative skills to come to the conclusion that she’s not the real Iris. Piecing together her recent behaviour and finding the photo that Kamila took of her, he believes that she’s from another dimension and now he just needs to convince everyone else.

The journey this takes throughout the episode is gripping and it is as sad as it is exciting. The reflections of Iris, Kamila and David team up so that Eva’s plan gets to crank up to its next level. This involves Bloodwork as they need his blood to create a pathway between both worlds. Sendhil is brilliant again and it’s clear being held captive this whole time hasn’t dampened his evil plans. Kamila makes a big sacrifice in order to get what they need. Unluckily for Barry, Eva is one step ahead the whole time which puts Iris at an advantage. She’s able to prevent him from proving that she’s not his real wife and their back and forth results in a great fight scene. It was so weird watching Grant and Candice in combat but it was such a great scene. Iris forms her arms into glass daggers and uses mirrors around the room to attack Barry. He doesn’t really stand a chance, especially as his speed is now on red.

During the episode we see Mirror Iris almost change her path a few times, which makes sense when we hear her tell Bloodwork she wants to live a real life. This makes it all so sad when she eventually meets her fate at the end, claiming to really feel real as she dies in Barry’s arms. This however allows Eva to walk through the mirror and that is not going to a good time for Barry. Behind the mirror, Iris discovers the truth surrounding her capture and what Eva is really up to. The sound effects in these scenes give the viewer insight into the pain Iris is experiencing in Eva’s secret lab. It was a nasty screeching sound, but worked so well.

As a sub plot we see Cisco and Ralph discover Caitlin in an ice coma due to battle wounds she’s gotten. As small as this was in the grand scheme of the whole episode it gave us a superb Frozen line from Ralph. If only the cold didn’t bother Caitlin either! We also see that Cisco has ALMOST perfected his speed machine. Let’s hope it won’t take him much longer because Barry really is going to need that very soon.

The Flash, The Flash - Season 6

The Flash – S6 Ep16 – So Long and Goodnight Review

It’s been a month since we last visited Central City and The Flash returns with an episode which pushes the story even further forward and does what it does best in giving us twists, turns and plenty of heart.

Joe finds himself centre of attention as Joseph Carver turns up the heat and tasks Rag Doll with destroying him. It was a real treat to see Troy James back as Rag Doll, who I would say is probably my favourite Flash mini villain to date. He adds an element of horror to the episode which I love. He’s Jigsaw without the tricycle. Joe escapes death and becomes a tad pig headed and ignores Barry’s advice as well as Chief David’s suggestion of going into witness protection. He manages to get a confession from Joseph but does the age old trick of showing his hand too quickly and the evidence is promptly destroyed. Eventually Rag Doll uses Cecile as leverage and Joe asks for David’s help in disappearing.

Ralph has continued to track Sue’s criminal activity and asks Cisco for help in catching her in another fun little 007-esque sub plot. Carlos Valdes once again stole the show for me. His one liners and quick wit are second to none. There’s a nice development between Ralph and Sue as he begins to understand her actions and starts to see another side to her. There’s definitely a heart hiding behind all that hijinks.

At this point, Barry’s speed is becoming a real issue and the watch he’s using is a constant reminder of the limited power he has remaining. Mirror Iris is tasked with getting him to use it all up and she does a good job in using emotional blackmail to do so. She uses every opportunity to entice him to use his speed and throws Barry out of their home for not taking her to find Joe. Poor guy! Maybe another chorus of ‘Running Home To You’ would do the trick? Or probably not as his actual wife is still trapped inside the mirror and however close she is beginning to come in finding the way out, Eva seems hell bent on keeping her there. I continue to throw praise at Candice for how brilliant she’s been all season.

There’s a twist towards the end of the episode which I saw coming but hoped wouldn’t. There is also a great stand off between Eva and Joseph after he’s delivered a mirror. As strong and cocky as he likes to appear, there is definitely something about Eva which scares him. She may be trapped, but I’d say she’s got the upper hand!

The Flash, The Flash - Season 6

The Flash – S6 Ep15 – The Exorcism of Nash Wells Review

Who doesn’t love an exorcism?!! Well Eobard Thawne is undoubtedly not too fond of them after this week’s events.

With Thawne taking home in Nash’s body the team are desperate to find a way to extract the evil and remove it for good. I thought this was a really good episode. As Nash is trapped inside his worst memory we find ourselves reliving it with him and get to see why he’s taken such an interest in Allegra. Tom Cavanagh is superb once again in this episode. He doesn’t even need the change of outfit to distinguish the difference between the two versions of Wells – you can tell who is who purely from his facial expressions.

Barry learns a lesson that we’ve learnt before on The Flash … he doesn’t need his powers to be a hero, although he learns it (again) the hard way. Let’s call it a refresher exercise! Cecile was fabulous this episode with her exorcism kit, I love her comedy relief. Joe continues to grow suspicious of Iris who is focused on a new mission for Eva with Mirror Kamila. I have to say this is beginning to become one of my favourite Flash storylines so far!